Kennedy High’s boys volleyball team had been in these situations three times already. Fifth sets had become the norm for the Fighting Irish. That experience seemed to kick in after Downey had defeated Kennedy 25-16 in the fourth set.
But the Fighting Irish came out fast in the fifth set, taking a 4-1 lead en route to a 15-9 set win and a 25-18, 22-25, 25-18, 16-25, 15-9 match win to capture the CIF-SS Division 4 Championship on Saturday at Cerritos College.
It was the first CIF-SS title for the Kennedy boys volleyball program. It was also the first time the team had advanced past the second round, despite making the playoffs nine of the past 12 years under the leadership of coach Travis Warner. He said that they have felt like they were given tough draws in a few past years, including having to open at Morro Bay last year as a second place team. This year, the Fighting Irish were slotted into the wildcard round, despite being ranked third in the final section polls, and that put just enough of a chip on their shoulders.
“We needed to win seven games in a row, that’s what we preached and we did it,” Warner said.
The championship game followed a pattern that saw the Fighting Irish win sets one and three, but lose sets two and four. In the losses, Kennedy found itself down early and could not seem to gain enough momentum to rally, though they did keep the second set close.
In the fourth set, the Fighting Irish trailed early, but did take a 4-3 lead before Downey gained control. When junior opposite hitter Jeremy Choi put down a kill from the right side, Downey led just 12-10, but it would get away from the Irish from there. Downey ran off seven consecutive points and took a 19-10 lead before cruising to the 25-16 win.
But having taken two prior matches to five sets, Kennedy settled in and came out fast in the deciding set. The Fighting Irish had a kill from junior middle blocker Daniel Song and back to back kills from Choi to take a 3-0 lead. Kennedy led 4-1 and 7-4 before Downey rallied to tie the set at 7-7.
But Kennedy would regain control from there. They led 9-8 when they went on a 5-0 run to take control of the set. Sophomore outside hitter Coby Prowse started the run with a kill off a blocker. After Downey was called for palming the ball on a hit, Song had back-to-back kills that fired up the gymnasium and put the Fighting Irish on the verge of the title.
Downey hit a shot long to give the Irish a 14-8 lead and one point later, Song ended the match with another kill down the middle. Song, Choi, and Prowse led the Irish with 11 kills, while Ryan Kim added 10.
Warner said he thought his team’s defense was steady although he admitted Downey served well enough to keep their serve receive scrambling a little bit. He felt his team won the match up front.
“I think our front row just dominated their offense,” Warner said.
Junior setter Spencer Hirai had 42 assists. Senior Libero Logan Dyckes had 22 digs and Hirai had 18 digs. Senior defensive specialist Lorenzo Bahena added 13 digs.
Warner said that on the court, the team benefitted from getting contributions from across the roster. Off the court, he said the team formed a bond that extended from court to school to their homes.
“It’s like a big family, nobody is an individual on this team, everybody does it for each other and that’s the best part about it,” Warner said.
The grit and determination that led the Fighting Irish to the eventual CIF-SS title was never more on display that in the semifinals. The Fighting Irish dropped the first two sets to the No. 2 seeded St. Margaret’s of San Juan Capistrano in tight sets. But Kennedy rebounded to win the next three, by the eventual final of 23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-9.
With the fifth set tied at 6-6, the Fighting Irish went on a 6-1 run to take control 12-7. Two points later, Choi and Kim teamed up on a block to give the Fighting Irish a match point lead of 14-8. After another St. Margaret’s point, Kim ended the match with a kill off a block.
“I think once we did that, we felt like we could do anything,” Dyckes said.
On Saturday that “anything” came to fruition. The Fighting Irish fulfilled what felt like destiny to them when the playoffs began with a wildcard round home game. It meant possibly even more than they had imagined.
“It means everything … I can’t even describe it,” Dyckes said.
The Fighting Irish advanced to the Division 3 State Tournament. They opened with a home match against Classical Academy of Escondido on Tuesday. The score was not available by press time. A win would put them in the second round on Thursday.
This article appeared in the May 24, 2017 print edition of the News Enterprise.
